Journey's Endings
by LTAOZFAN
Summary: Kim, Ron and Rufus have become involved with the fourth Dr. Who, in pursuit of a TARDIS that was stolen. They have visited the Chicago 1893 World's Fair and the Battle of Fair Oaks during the Civil War in 1862. Now they are on the trail, heading for one of the darkest days in American history.
1. Chapter 1

**Journey's Endings**

**Part One: A Hot Day in August**

**Author's Comments:** Here is the third story in my "Kim Possible / Doctor Who" story arc. When I first began thinking about this I thought it would be one story. Now it has grown to a trilogy, and I'm not quite sure where it will all end up.

My thanks go to all those who read the two previous stories, "A Fair to Remember," and "Balloons, Bolts and a Battle." And special thanks to Scott Simerlein of the La Porte, Indiana, "Wordcrafters" for his feedback and suggestions.

At the end of "Balloons, Bolts and a Battle" Kim, Ron, Rufus and The Doctor discovered that Oscar Diggs, a twelve-year old member of the Union Army Balloon Corps had got into the TARDIS and was coming with them. Now, let's join the group in the Fourth Doctor's TARDIS, Somewhere and Somewhen in history and time. They are in pursuit of an Empath (from the planet Empathios) who has stolen a TARDIS from the Time Lords and is roaming through Earth's history to absorb the strong emotions found in times of crisis and war.

KPDWKPDWKPDW

Kim, Ron, Rufus and Oscar Diggs waited, watching the steady up-and-down motion of the time rotor as the Doctor's TARDIS made a slow sweep of the late August 1814 period. K-9, the Doctor's robot dog, sat patiently on the floor beside them. Ron spoke softly to Kim and said, "Since he wasn't at the Alamo, do you think he'll be here, KP?"

"I don't know, Ron, but if he is, I mean to catch him." Her voice had a determination in it that Ron had heard before. Kim was going to catch the Empath; he wouldn't get away as he had in 1862 during the Civil War.

Just then the control console gave a combined chirp and beep, and the Time Lord smiled broadly.

"Have you found him, Doctor?" Ron asked.

"Yes; he definitely landed in this time period. Just now the TARDIS is scanning for the best place for us to materialize."

Another light on the control console blinked rapidly five times; the time rotor moved briskly for a few seconds and then stopped.

"Well, we've landed about twenty-four hours later than the Empath, and a bit over one thousand yards east of where our quarry materialized. Interesting," the Doctor remarked.

"That means he's had a full day to hide, doesn't it?" Oscar asked anxiously. "Do you think we can find him?"

"With the sonic screwdriver's 'tracer' function we can find his TARDIS," the Doctor absently replied, working the controls for the viewscreen as he spoke.

"But will the Empath stay in his TARDIS or go out, Doctor?" Kim asked crisply. "Any ideas?"

"If he wants to experience powerful emotions he'll have to get close to the scene of action personally, Kimberly. Just now it's nine o'clock in the morning of 24 August 1814, and the Battle of Bladensburg happens this afternoon." He looked at the two teens, young boy and mole rat. "It's likely that he'll put his hat on and be coming out today," he added with a grin.

"Hey, we're inside a building again," said Ron, pointing at the screen. They all gazed at the image and saw that the Doctor's TARDIS was now in a room filled with models of all sorts. It looked like a small room that had been used for storage of a wide assortment of models of machines of many different kinds. There were a couple of boats, a windmill, and many others whose function was a little hard to identify,

"Somebody needs to clean this place up a bit," Ron remarked thoughtfully.

"I think it may be the United States Patent Office," Kim mused. "I remember Mr. Barkin told us that in the 19th century you had to supply a working model of your invention when you tried to get a patent." She looked down at Oscar. "That's why nobody has ever gotten a patent on a perpetual motion machine; they have to send in a model that works when they apply, and nobody ever has."

"In fact, Kimberly, about 1712 a wheel that revolved steadily without any external power was apparently made by a German gentleman named Johann Bessler." The Doctor looked at his robot friend and added, "Once our current assignment is settled, K-9, remind me of that. I'd like to pay Herr Bessler a visit and see just how he made that wheel work."

"Well," Kim said briskly, "if the Empath is here and we can find his TARDIS, we'd better start doing it, Ron."

"Can I come, too?" Oscar asked in a hopeful tone. "Please?" he added as the others all frowned at him.

_We'd better take him along_, Kim thought. _Leaving him alone in the TARDIS would be like leaving Tim or Jim alone in the Middleton Space Center_. But she waited to hear what the Doctor would decide, and hoped that the Time Lord would agree with her.

"Oh, very well, Oscar, you can come too," the Doctor said with a sigh. "We'll leave K-9 to guard the TARDIS while we're out." He took his hat from the hatrack, fished the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket, made some adjustments to it and then moved a control on the panel.

Nothing happened.

"Let me try, Doctor," said Kim. She moved the door control up to the 'shut' position and then smoothly brought it down again.

The door promptly swung open.

The Doctor opened his mouth to say something, looked at Kim and then at Ronald, and then gave a shrug. "I know," he sighed. "As you say, Kimberly, 'Anything is possible for a Possible.' Keep a watch on the door, K-9," he called. Then he went out followed by Kim, Ron and Oscar.

There was just enough space among the many models to let the Doctor lead them, single file, to the door. They went along a corridor, down a flight of stairs and into a deserted lobby. There were neatly-lettered signs on several doors, one of which said 'Superintendent of Patents.' Ron pointed at this as they passed it. "You were right; Kim, this must be the Patent Office."

Outside Kim was surprised to see how primitive the city of Washington appeared. The street that ran in front of the building wasn't paved, the sidewalk was made of wooden planks and there were only a small number of houses and buildings scattered about. It all looked more like a set for a western motion picture than a nation's capital.

The Doctor swung the sonic screwdriver about to locate the stolen TARDIS. "It's approximately a thousand yards, west by north," he remarked. "This street goes roughly in the right direction, so we'll head that way to start."

After they had walked a short distance the Doctor spoke to Kim. "You had a good knowledge of the American Civil War when we were there, Kimberly." He checked the readings on the sonic screwdriver again and continued. "What do you know about the Battle of Bladensburg?"

"Not much, Doctor," Kim admitted. "I only know that it happened, and the American Army was defeated by the British. Don't you know about it?"

"Unfortunately, no more than you do," he replied. "Not even a Time Lord can know everything."

"Miss Kim?" Oscar spoke up. "I know about it. My grandfather was in that battle."

"Was he a soldier, Oscar?" Kim replied.

"No. He was a gunner in the Defense Flotilla that patrolled Chesapeake Bay. They fought the redcoats in gunboats and schooners and really gave 'em trouble."

"How did he get in a land battle, then?" Ron asked.

"The British chased the flotilla up the Patuxent River and Commodore Barney had to scuttle all the gunboats," Oscar replied. "Then he took the men to Washington to help defend the city."

Ron was about to suggest that Oscar look up his grandfather when the Doctor stopped where the street they were on joined a wider street — also unpaved — that headed sharply back to the left, and ahead and slightly to the right. There were several wagons and riders on horses moving about.

"Let's follow this street." The Doctor pointed ahead with the sonic screwdriver. "Our target is in that direction."

As they crossed the broad street and headed up the wooden sidewalk, Oscar looked around carefully and then remarked, "I think this is Pennsylvania Avenue."

Kim reflected that the wide, unpaved street and the few buildings didn't look anything like Pennsylvania Avenue did in the television pictures she had seen of the last Presidential inauguration parade. But she didn't mention this to Oscar, and only asked him, "Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah. I'd just joined the Balloon Corps when Professor Lowe made his ascent over Washington and telegraphed a message to President Lincoln. I got to see some of the city, and this looks about right for Pennsylvania Avenue. But the city seems to be a lot smaller than I remember it."

"You forget, Oscar, that today is forty-eight years in the past from your point of view," said the Doctor, turning as the street made a jog to the right.

"Say . . . that means I haven't been born yet!" Oscar marveled.

"Neither have Ron, Rufus and I," Kim remarked.

"Is it just me, or is it hot today?" said Ron. "I'm really sweating."

"Washington is always hot in the summer," Oscar replied. "Professor Lowe says it was only when he was up in the balloon _Enterprise_ over Washington that he could cool off."

They kept walking, the Doctor concentrating on the sonic screwdriver while Kim, Ron and Oscar took note of the activity around them. There were several groups of soldiers marching past on the wide avenue and individual cavalrymen riding back and forth as if they were returning scouts or couriers going out with messages. Ron knew he was no military expert, but it all looked disorganized to him. Oscar commented, "Troops like that could never beat the Rebs."

"Remember, kid: they lost," Ron stated, as they turned a corner to the left and headed directly west.

"We're getting fairly close," the Doctor said thoughtfully. He checked the readings again with care, and then came to a stop. He nodded, pointing at an impressive stone building that stood back from the street with a wide open area around it. "It's in there."

Kim studied the building with a growing dismay. She recognized it, even though the grounds were not the neat, landscaped lawn she would have expected. A half-circle of unpaved driveway led from the street up to the entrance and back to the street. While there was a low stone wall at the edge of the street, and a simple fence along the inner side of the driveway, there was no sign of any guards.

"In there! Are you sure, Dude?" Ron's voice was a mixture of disbelief and surprise.

"Yes," said the Doctor. "It appears to be someplace on the ground floor." He gave a sigh. "Makes things a bit awkward for us, I'd say."

"Awkward isn't the word, Doctor," Kim growled. "Of all the buildings in Washington that he could land in, _why _did he have to pick the White House?"

**TBC . . .**

**Author's Disclaimer and Notes:**

The Disney Company owns the Kim Possible concept and characters.

The British Broadcasting Corporation owns the Doctor Who concept.

The term TARDIS is also copyright by the BBC.

The plot of this story is my responsibility.

In the early eighteenth century Johann Bessler, who called himself "Orffyreus," built three wheels of various sizes that would keep rotating once they were started. The wheels were inspected by experts but there was no sign of any external power being applied to them. He got the name of "Orffyreus" by writing the alphabet in a circle and then picking the letters directly opposite to the letters in his real name. So "Bessler" became "Orffyre," and he turned this into Latin as "Offfyreus."


	2. Chapter 2

**Journey's Endings**

**Part Two: Dolley's House**

**Author's Comments:** So, Kim, Ron, Rufus, the Doctor and Oscar Diggs have to find a legitimate way of getting inside the White House in August 1814. Of course, Kim seems to have an idea on how it can be done.

My thanks go to all those who read the first chapter, particularly Cajunbear73, who supplied a comment within a few hours of the chapter's posting. And to all who read this chapter, please feel free to offer comments. I'll do my best to reply, and I don't bite. Really!

KPDWKPDWKPDW

For a full minute nobody said anything; they just stared at the famous building. But then Oscar broke the silence.

"Are you sure that's the White House, Miss Kim? It does sort of look like it, but it's different from what I remember seeing."

"You know what happened after we lost the Battle of Bladensburg, don't you?" Kim asked.

"The redcoats marched into Washington, an' they burned the capitol and the White House," the boy promptly replied. "Grandpa used to talk about that a lot."

"Well, after the war the White House was rebuilt, and some things were added to it in the next forty years," Kim explained.

"What do we do, Kim? We can't just walk up there and go in," Ron said.

"Why not? People go to see President Lincoln all the time," Oscar protested.

"They go to see President Lincoln in your time," Kim replied. "But James Madison is President now. Even though I don't see any, there must be a few guards around here. We can't just barge in and tell them, 'Don't mind us, we only want to look around in the basement for a while.'"

Ron looked up at the Doctor, who was frowning in thought as he swung the sonic screwdriver back and forth. "How do we get in, Doctor?"

"Are we to get in at all, Ronald?" the Time Lord asked. "That's the first question, you know."

Rufus stuck his head out of his usual pocket, gazed at the building and gave a squeak of dismay.

"Oscar, do you remember anything your grandfather said about what the President did on the day of the battle?"

"Well, Miss Kim, he always said the people in Washington thought the British would get beat an' go back to their ships," the boy replied. "They planned a victory dinner at the White House for that evening, and the President's wife was there almost to the last minute."

Kim nodded and turned to the Doctor.

"You mentioned a mechanical duck that was built in the eighteenth century that could act like a real duck. Could it walk around and fly?"

Oscar looked bewildered, while Ron and Rufus traded puzzled expressions.

"No, Kimberly. It just stood on top of a small cabinet and when it was started it would shift its feathers, preen itself, flap its wings and quack." The Time Lord frowned. "But in the fifteenth century a gentleman supposedly built a wooden eagle that flew out from the city of Nuremberg to greet the Holy Roman Emperor when he visited the city."

"My father saw a machine in New Orleans that looked like a man, once," Oscar volunteered. "He said it played chess, and nobody who played against it ever won."

Kim smiled and turned back to gaze at the White House. "If we could get K-9 inside the ground floor, could he look for the stolen TARDIS by himself, Doctor? In the dark?"

"Oh, certainly. K-9 has excellent sensors. But how do you propose we get him inside?''

"Let's go back to the Patent Office; I'll explain on the way. Come on Ron, it's mission time!"

Followed closely by her partner, Kim started walking back along Pennsylvania Avenue.

The Doctor and Oscar exchanged puzzled looks, and then followed them.

"To start with," Kim said to Ron, "I think we'll need a wagon, and a horse to pull it . . . "

KPDWKPDWKPDW

Once they were back at the Patent Office Kim and Ron helped K-9 out of the TARDIS and down the stairs to the lobby. Once they were outside, they found the Doctor and Oscar had located a horse and wagon, and with their aid they loaded the robot dog in the wagon box. Oscar took the reins and they started back to Pennsylvania Avenue.

"I locked the door of the TARDIS after we left, Doctor," said Kim, "and here's the key you gave me."

"Thank you, Kimberly. Did anyone see you while you were inside?"

"We never saw anyone in the building the whole time," Kim answered. "By the way, how did you find a wagon so quickly?"

"It was behind a house over there," Oscar remarked, pointing to his right.

"The gentleman who lives there was concerned about his family and property," the Doctor explained to Kim and Ron. "He was going to load a few things and his family on it and leave the city." He grinned thoughtfully. "He was worried that British soldiers might start looting if they win this afternoon's battle and then enter the city. I merely pointed out that British troops are highly disciplined, and that as long as he, his wife and their two sons did not fight them, they would not be harmed. And he couldn't take all his things with him in any case."

"The money must've helped, too."

At Oscar's words the Doctor frowned. "Well, yes. That's why I offered it to him." He looked at Kim. "Twelve English gold sovereigns, Kimberly — more than a fair price, I assure you."

Kim made no comment. She remembered how the Doctor had had American money of the period at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, as well as a yo-yo during the Civil War.

"You can find an answer to anything, Doctor," Ron remarked in an admiring tone.

"Well, finding the answers, that's easy," the Time Lord replied. "Finding the right questions, now . . . _that's_ where it gets difficult."

"Here we are," said Oscar as he reined in the horse. "What now, Miss Kim?"

Kim gazed at the rutted path up to the White House for a moment, and then looked at Ron, Rufus, the Doctor and K-9.

"Does anybody have any questions?" she asked in her 'mission mode' voice. "We all know what to do?"

"All set, KP."

Rufus made a 'thumbs up' gesture.

"I'm ready, Miss Kim."

"Affirmative!"

"I'm always ready, Kimberly," said the Doctor. "This should be a fascinating experience."

"Oscar, take us up to the entrance," Kim ordered. The boy flicked the reins and the horse started up the driveway. At the same time Kim mused, _I never thought I'd have to __trick my way into the White House!_

The wagon rolled to a stop at the flight of steps that led up to the door. Kim and the Doctor got out. He winked at Kim and softly said, "As you like to say, Kimberly: It's mission time!" They went up the steps and the Doctor knocked on the door.

There was a short wait and then the door was opened by a man in a uniform that wasn't military but suggested that he was of some importance. _Perhaps he's the official doorkeeper? _Kim thought.

"My good man, I understand that preparations are underway for a special dinner by President Madison and various officials. I have brought a device here that should amuse them after they have dined. May I bring it in?"

The doorkeeper looked skeptical. "Who are you, Monsieur. And do you have anything to support this claim?"

Kim noticed that while he spoke good English there was a touch of a French accent in the doorkeeper's voice.

"I am simply called 'The Doctor,' and I believe this letter from Thomas Jefferson will vouch for the truth in what I say." The Time Lord pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to the doorkeeper, who drew a sheet of paper from the envelope and quickly scanned it.

"I see!" Kim thought that the man sounded impressed. "And what is the nature of your . . . 'device,' Doctor?"

"My creation is a wonder that combines and surpasses the works of both Vaucanson and Offyrreus! A mechanical dog that moves about on its own and responds to vocal commands. Would you please tell the President about it? _S'il vous plaît_," he added in French.

"The President is not in at the present time, but I will pass your message to his lady. _Attendez ici jusqu'à ce que je revienne." _ He closed the door and the Doctor smiled at Kim.

"A letter of introduction from Thomas Jefferson, Doctor?" Kim asked in a wondering voice.

"While I rarely use written identification, Kimberly, if necessary I could prove that I am anything from a member of the Long Parliament to a inspector for the Boston, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Transit Authority."

Kim was silent for a moment, mentally digesting this. Then she said, "I didn't know you spoke French, either, Doctor."

"Oh, many languages both from this planet and others. We Time Lords are versatile."

Kim nodded. "That doorman . . . he said we should wait here until he comes back, right?"

"Exactly. I take it you have some ability in the French language yourself, then?"

"Two semesters of it," Kim replied.

About a minute later, the door opened again. The doorkeeper was there with a young black man who looked to be about Ron's age.

"The President's Lady will see you, Doctor. Paul will take you in." He indicated the young man and then stood aside, opening the door wide.

"Right this way, sir," said the boy, and led them into the entrance hall. There they met a slim woman in a voluminous dress of the sort that was fashionable in 1814. The boy informed them that this was the President's wife, Dolley. She gazed at Kim's simple blouse-and-skirt attire and smiled when she noticed the Doctor's extraordinary scarf.

The Doctor bowed and introduced himself and Kim, explaining that she was his niece.

"Well, sir, I understand you have a machine that looks and acts like a dog and comes when you call it. Is that right?"

"It is, ma'am. A most ingenious device that surpasses every mechanical wonder of the past, or in the world today. Hearing of the plans for a special dinner here tonight, I thought that after the meal the President and his guests might be amused by a demonstration of my mechanical canine."

Kim had seen the Doctor in action in 1893 Chicago and the Civil War in 1862, but she hadn't realized how well he could play the part of a showman promoting his attraction. At the same time she noted that Dolley Madison seemed to be a very pleasant person, but there was an aura of strength and self-assurance about her as well.

"Just what does your mechanical dog do then, Doctor?" Dolley asked. "Can it fetch, sit up and roll over?"

"Let me bring it in, ma'am, and show you. It will only take a few minutes," the Time Lord replied. "I can operate it briefly by way of a demonstration."

Dolley Madison smiled. "All right, Doctor, bring it in. Paul, you go with him and give him any help he needs," she added to the young black man.

"Yes, ma'am." Paul nodded politely and then led the Doctor and Kim back to the door and down the stairs.

"Will you need someone to carry this 'dog' inside, sir?"

"I think that with Kimberly and her friends Ronald and Oscar I can manage," the Doctor answered. "But there's the question of this wagon. If we leave it unattended someone might take it without asking."

"I can have it put in our stable, sir, if that would be all right."

Kim wondered if this young man was a slave. He certainly acted in a very deferential way toward the Doctor.

"Thank you, Paul, that would be most helpful," the Doctor answered, as he, Ron and Oscar began to get K-9 out of the wagon.

Kim and Ron took one side of K-9 while the Doctor and Oscar took the other, and together they carried the robot dog up the steps and into the entrance hall. Once inside they put K-9 down and Dolley Madison came over to inspect him. A black man who appeared to be about thirty was with her.

"It does look something like a dog, Doctor. Is that the name on the side: K-9?"

"Correct, Ma'am. One moment, please, while I get the mechanism operating . . . " The Time Lord knelt and slid open a small panel on K-9's left side, close to the floor. He reached in and appeared to turn a crank several times. There was a sound like clockwork being wound up, and then a mechnical hum.

"There! Now we can demonstrate. Kimberly, if you please . . . ?"

Kim stepped forward, looked down at K-9 and said, "K-9. Do a left turn."

K-9 silently did a ninety-degree turn to his left.

"K-9. About face." At Kim's command the robot dog made a further turn one hundred and eighty degrees to his left. Then he moved forward, and back, and went in a circle, following Kim's orders perfectly each time.

"Well, I'm impressed!" said Mrs. Madison. "Does your 'dog' do anything else beside move at your orders, Doctor?"

"Oh, yes," the Doctor replied with his usual grin. "He can sing as well as move. K-9! Please sing a patriotic song for us."

K-9 began moving backwards and forwards, turning some each time so that he seemed to be dancing, and at the same time he sang.

_ "The _Constitution_ long shall be the glory of our Navy,_

_ For when she grapples with a foe, she sends him to old Davy._

_ Yankee Doodle, keep it up! Yankee Doodle dandy._

_ We'll let the British know that we at fighting are quite handy."_

It took Dolley Madison a full minute to find her voice. Then she said, "Doctor that is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I wish the President were here to see it."

"He will be back this evening, will he not?"

At the Doctor's question Mrs. Madison frowned, and a faint look of uncertainty came to her face. "I hope so. He went to see General Armstrong this morning about the defense of the city."

"I see. Perhaps my friend here should be put some place where he'll be out of the way until it is time for dinner." He gestured at K-9 as he spoke. "If there's a storage room on the ground floor, perhaps?"

"Certainly." She turned to the black man and said, "Jim. Show the Doctor and his friends to the ground floor and help them find a suitable spot to store their machine for a time."

"We could let him roll to the stairs," said Kim, pointing at K-9, "couldn't we, 'Uncle?'"

"A good idea. Where is the staircase, Jim?" the Doctor said to the black man.

"This way, sir." At his direction Kim gave K-9 a series of 'orders' and the robot dog dutifully rolled out of the entrance hall and over to a staircase that Jim said led to the ground floor. Ron, Oscar, the Doctor and Kim carried K-9 down the steps and when they reached the bottom, Jim brought two lighted lanterns to show them where K-9 could be stored for a time.

As they parked K-9 in a small room, Oscar tugged at Jim's sleeve and asked him, "Excuse me, but, are you . . . a slave?" Kim flinched mentally, hoping the man didn't take offense at such a personal remark.

The black man just shook his head and smiled.

"No indeed, son, I'm as free as any man. Nobody owns me!"

"That's good," said the boy. "My father always says that slavery is wrong."

"I'd better make sure he's shut off properly," said the Doctor, pointing at K-9. "You can go back upstairs if you like, Jim. Just leave us a lantern, and we will be up in a few minutes."

"Very well, sir. Just turn right from the door and then left to the stairs." He picked up one lantern and went out while the Doctor knelt and opened K-9's side panel again.

As soon as the light from Jim's lantern had vanished, Ron knelt and whispered, "Hey, Rufus; are you okay, buddy?"

The mole rat looked out of the compartment, grinned and gave a 'thumbs up' gesture.

Kim spoke to Oscar in an exasperated tone, "Oscar, I don't like slavery either. But remember this is fifty years ago! A lot of people felt differently about slavery in 1814, so play it safe. Don't ask questions like that, please and thank you." She gave the boy a mild version of the 'Puppy-dog Pout' that made him wriggle with embarassment.

"I'm sorry, Miss Kim. I won't do it again."

Having checked on the welfare of his pet and friend, Ron turned his attention back to the mission. "Can you find the stolen TARDIS, Doctor?"

"I believe so." He swung the sonic screwdriver in a circle and then nodded. "Yes! Our quarry is about twenty feet in _that_ direction!" The Doctor pointed at a wall that had no door in it.

"There should be a door from this hallway," Kim said softly, stepping out of the room and looking to her left.

Closely followed by Ron, Kim moved along the corridor while Oscar held up the lantern and the Doctor took a small device from one of his coat pockets and showed it to Kim.

"Let me go first, Kimberly. This will neutralize the beam from his knock-out ray."

Kim nodded and stepped aside so the Time Lord could enter the next room first. But as the Doctor turned the handle on the door, they all heard a familiar whooshing-rumbling-wheezing sound. The Doctor swung the door open, and Oscar let the lantern-light shine into the store-room. In it they saw a collection of wooden boxes and pieces of furniture, in the middle of which was a box about six feet high and three feet square.

Before anybody could say or do anything, the tall box faded and winked out of sight.

Once again the Empath and the stolen TARDIS had slipped away into time!

**TBC . . .**

**Author's Disclaimer and Notes:**

The Disney Company owns the Kim Possible concept and characters.

The British Broadcasting Corporation owns the Doctor Who concept.

The term TARDIS is also copyright by the BBC.

The plot of this story is my responsibility.

The Doctor is referring to an automaton created by Jacques Vaucanson (1709 - 1782), a French inventor and mechanical engineer who built life-size mechanical figures that duplicated the actions of living creatures. Two of these were "The Flute Player," which could play twelve different tunes on a flute, and "The Duck," which could quack, flap its wings, preen itself, eat grain and drink water. He also built a full-size carriage that was powered by clockwork.

The chess-playing "automaton" Oscar's father saw was actually a clever device with a man concealed inside it who made the figure move and play chess. It was built by Wolfgang von Kempelen in about 1770. In 1818 the "automaton" was purchased by Johann Maelzel who toured Europe and America exhibiting the chess-player along with other, genuine, automata, until he died in 1838.

Johann Bessler, who called himself "Offyreus," built several wheels in the eighteenth century that spun steadily without any detectable external power source.

The song that K-9 sings was actually written soon after the U. S. Navy frigate _Constitution_ returned to Boston, Massachusetts, on August 30, 1812, and the ship's success in battle against the British frigate _Guerriere_ was announced.


	3. Chapter 3

**Journey's Endings**

**Part Three: Grumbles and Grapeshot**

**Author's Comments:** Once again the Empath has eluded Team Possible and the Doctor. Or was he just going somewhere else without knowing that he was being pursued? Read on, and you will learn some of the answers.

My thanks go to Mahlar Avatar, CajunBear73, and all others who read the two previous chapters. Please feel free to leave a comment about this story at any time. I will do my best to reply.

KPDWKPDWKPDW

"Oh, great!" Ron groused. "He got away from us _again!_ Where do you think he's gone now, Doctor?"

"One minute, Ronald, while I check." The Doctor swung the sonic screwdriver in a circle as he turned completely around, "If he's still in this time and hasn't gone too far a distance, I may pick him up again," he added.

Kim gritted her teeth. They had seen the Empath in 1893 and found his TARDIS in 1862, but both times he had left before they could catch him. Now their quarry had slipped away for a third time! Kim hadn't felt this annoyed since Bonnie Rockwaller had tried to become Captain of the Middleton High School cheerleader squad.

"Well! He just materialized," said the Doctor, happily.

"Good," Kim snapped. "Where is he?" Her 'mission' voice contained a mixture of determination and satisfaction.

"Five miles to the northeast of where we are now."

Kim frowned in concentration. "That's about where Bladensburg is. He must have gone there to watch the battle!"

"You mean we didn't scare him away? Cool!" Ron enthused.

"Miss Kim?" Oscar's voice combined respect and curiosity. "Do we go after him or wait for him to come back here?"

"Good thinking, Oscar," Kim answered. She looked at the Time Lord and added her own question.

"Any thoughts on that, Doctor?"

"We'll have to go and search for him at Bladensburg, certainly. But K-9 should stay here in case he returns after the battle is fought."

Kim nodded. "Everybody around here will be excited and nervous because the British troops are coming, right?"

"Exactly. And that's just what an Empath likes: lots of strong emotions."

The Doctor knelt beside his robot companion, who now had Rufus sitting on his back.

"Remain here, K-9, and keep a sharp watch for that stolen TARDIS. If it comes back, and the Empath steps out, stun him at once. Clear?"

"Perfectly clear, Master." The robot dog nodded his head as he spoke.

"Ron, I think Rufus should stay here with K-9," said Kim. "If you two got separated on the battlefield it might be very hard to find him."

"Okay. You understand, buddy? Stick with K-9 until we get back." Ron extended his right index finger to his mole rat friend, and Rufus shook it firmly in one tiny paw.

"We'd better go back upstairs before they start to wonder why we're staying down here," Kim remarked. She picked up the lantern and waved to Rufus and K-9 as she, the Doctor, Ron and Oscar went out the door and into the hallway.

As they came back up the steps, they heard Dolley Madison speaking to someone. "I understand, Mister Blake, but the President has left me in charge here while he is with the army, and I am not about to abandon my post!"

Coming into the room Kim saw Mrs. Madison with a man who looked scared. He was dressed a bit carelessly and seemed close to panic. Paul, the young black man, stood to one side, as if awaiting instructions. The Doctor paused to avoid intruding, so Kim, Ron and Oscar stopped as well.

"The outcome of the battle is not a certainty, Madam; you must be prepared to leave at a moment's notice!"

"If danger threatens, of course, I will leave in good time. But not beforehand." Dolley nodded in a firm, 'and that's that!' manner.

The man nodded in reply, excused himself, and rushed out of the room. Paul hurried after him to open the door, but the man didn't wait and opened it himself.

"Who was that?" Kim asked, as they joined Dolley Madison.

"James Blake, the mayor of Washington," she replied, gazing after the man with a frown.

_That's the Mayor of Washington?_ Kim wondered to herself. _How did somebody like _that _get elected?_

"Sort of excitable, isn't he?" Ron remarked to Oscar.

"Seems to be a bit high-strung for a public official," the Doctor observed.

Dolley frowned for a moment and slowly nodded. Then she turned and faced the time lord. "Well, Doctor, is your machine stored properly?"

"Safe and sound, Ma'am. But by the Mayor's agitated manner, I gather that dinner may be late, tonight."

"Perhaps," Dolley Madison replied firmly. "But when the President returns to this house I shall be here to greet him."

Before anyone could comment on this, the doorkeeper came up to Mrs. Madison and cleared his throat.

"_Pardonnez-moi, Madame._ One of Commodore Barney's flotillamen is here. He is seeking a wagon to help carry ammunition for the artillery to Bladensburg."

"We have a wagon," said Kim. "And we can help load the ammunition in it."

"Yeah, we could help," Ron added. The Doctor nodded his approval and winked at both of them.

"If Paul will get our wagon, we'd be glad to offer our assistance," the time lord said to Dolley.

"Very well. Paul! Bring the flotillaman in, and then fetch the Doctor's wagon to the door."

"Yes, ma'am." The boy went out of the room and in less than a minute came back with a lean, tanned young man who seemed to be only a few years older than Kim and Ron. He was dressed like a seaman, and when he was introduced, he saluted Mrs. Madison.

"This gentleman is known as 'The Doctor;' he and his three friends have a wagon, and will help you load it with ammunition for the artillery."

"Thank you, Ma'am. The Commodore is moving his men and guns to Bladensburg and needs every wagon we can find to take up the powder and shot."

"We'll help all we can," Kim answered in her 'mission' voice. "This is Ron, Oscar and I'm Kim. Let's get started!"

"Thank you, Mrs. Madison," said the Doctor as they all started for the door. "We'll be back for K-9 as soon as we can."

"You're welcome, Doctor. And be careful, all of you!" Dolley called as they left the White House.

When they came out, Paul was just bringing the wagon to the foot of the front steps. Oscar offered to drive, if the flotillaman would tell him where to go.

"That's a good idea; I'm better on a sloop's deck than on a wagon. Let's see, you're Oscar? My name is Thomas." They shook hands and mounted the seat at the front of the wagon, while the Doctor, Kim and Ron climbed into the wagon box. Once everybody was on board Oscar flicked the reins, and they started out.

As they drove east on Pennsylvania Avenue, Thomas explained that Commodore Barney, 400 flotillamen, 120 Marines and five cannon had been ordered to guard the main bridge over the Eastern Branch of the Potomac River.

"We were all down there, without a Redcoat in sight," Thomas explained. "The Commodore was ready to chew marlinspikes an' spit nails 'cause it looked like we'd be left out of the battle. Then President Madison and his cabinet showed up." The young man shook his head and whistled. "The Commodore really let 'em have it. He wanted to know why over _five hundred_ fightin' men and five guns had to guard a bridge when any corporal and _five_ men with muskets could burn it if the British showed up!"

"Good question," Ron remarked. "Did he yell at the President?"

"Him _an'_ the Secretary o' War, Johnny Armstrong!" Thomas replied. "Won his point too. The Marines, us flotillamen an' the guns started marching, but the Commodore told off some of us to find wagons, load 'em with ammunition for the guns and follow him to Bladensburg. Oh, turn right here. We go south from the Capitol to the Navy Yard."

Kim had never studied military tactics and strategy, but she had learned the basics in Mr. Barkin's history class and by watching documentaries on television. Leaving good troops and artillery behind when you set out to stop an invasion sounded pretty slap-dash to her. _No wonder we'll lose this battle!_ she thought grimly.

Thomas guided them to the Washington Navy Yard, through the gate and past a monument that he said was dedicated to the men who died in America's war with the Barbary pirates. The wagon pulled up where cannon balls were stacked, and Thomas said they needed to put thirty of them in the wagon.

"Then we need thirty o' those stands o' grapeshot," he added, pointing to a pile of things that did look something like batches of big grapes to Kim.

"You keep the horse steady, Oscar," Kim ordered, "we'll load the wagon."

"How much do these things weigh?" Ron asked, as he picked up one of the cannonballs.

"Twelve pounds," Thomas answered. "A stand of grape weighs 'bout eleven pounds." He picked up one and remarked, "There's nine grapeshot in each one o' these things. The shot weigh a pound apiece."

"I believe it," Kim grunted, as she lifted her third 'stand' into the wagonbox.

"What are grapeshot for, anyway?" Ron asked as he loaded another cannonball.

"Stands o' grape in your guns will let you cut up a sloop's rigging, or stop a small boat attack, cold," said Thomas. "It's like a load of buckshot, only lots bigger."

"Very effective against cavalry and massed infantry, too," said the Doctor. "Particularly at short range. There! I believe that's all you asked for, Thomas." He ran a calcuating eye over the projectiles in the wagon and nodded. "Yes. We have thirty of each."

"What about gunpowder?" Kim asked Thomas. "Should we load some of that, too?"

"Nope. The Commodore took a couple o' wagons with him that were full of cartridges for both the twelve-pounders and the eighteen-pounders when he marched out." He got back up on the wagon seat, while the Doctor, Kim and Ron got back in the wagon box.

Thomas gave Oscar a hand up to the seat, told him which road to follow, and added, "The drivers didn't like it, much, sittin' next to all that black powder, but the Commodore told 'em if they wouldn't drive the wagons, we would."

"Then the wagon drivers aren't flotillamen?" Kim was puzzled. "Or Marines?"

"Nope; they're civilians," Thomas remarked. "Turn left here," he directed Oscar.

Kim's estimate of American military ability in the coming battle dropped even lower. She traded a look with Ron, who seemed equally dismayed.

"What a way to fight a war," Ron grumbled. "If Mr. Barkin could see it, he'd blow a fuse."

Kim nodded, and the wagon rolled onwards toward the little village of Bladensburg and a dark moment in American history.

**TBC . . .**

**Author's Disclaimer and Notes:**

The Disney Company owns the Kim Possible concept and characters.

The British Broadcasting Corporation owns the Doctor Who concept.

The term TARDIS is also copyright by the BBC.

The plot of this story is my responsibility.

The Tripoli Monument at the Washington Navy Yard was carved of Carrera marble in 1806 and brought to the United States on the Navy frigate U.S.S. _Constitution_. The monument survived the burning of the Navy Yard in 1814, and in 1831 it was moved to the west terrace of the United States Capitol building. In 1860 the monument was moved a second time, to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, where it remains to this day. It is the oldest military monument in the United States.


	4. Chapter 4

**Journey's Endings**

**Part Four: The Scene of Battle**

**Author's Comments:** Kim, Ron, Oscar Diggs and the Doctor are in pursuit of the Empath and the stolen TARDIS at the Battle of Bladensburg, one of the worst defeats ever suffered by an American army. Will our friends find and capture their quarry, or will he elude them again? Read on, and you may learn some of the answers.

My thanks go to Mahler Avatar, CajunBear73, and all others who have read the previous chapters. Please feel free to leave a comment about this story at any time. I will do my best to reply.

KPDWKPDWKPDW

Kim had heard the phrase 'the heat of battle' a few times but didn't think it exactly meant this. As their wagon rolled up the road to Bladensburg the heat clung to her like a hot blanket. She tried to imagine what it was like for men carrying a musket, ammunition and a pack to march six or seven miles in such humid heat. There were small groups of men moving in various directions, and ahead she could see a group around a pair of cannons parked side by side on the road. There were three more cannons to the right with men in blue coats working with them, and more men further to the right in open fields. All of these guns seemed to be aimed up the road to Bladensburg.

"There's the Commodore!" said Thomas, pointing to a man in white trousers and a blue uniform jacket with gold epaulets, sitting on a horse alongside the two guns on the road. There was a growl of sounds coming from further up the road, as if men were shouting and guns were firing, all jumbled together. Then a streak of smoke came down the road, sailing through the air and shooting off to the right. Moments later another came, heading toward the guns, but it dropped well short of them.

Oscar pulled the wagon up to where Commodore Barney's horse stood, and Thomas called out, "I've got thirty shot an' thirty stands o' grape for the twelve-pounders, sir! Where should I put them?"

The Commodore brought his horse over to the wagon. "Good man! Take them there, to Captain Miller and his Marines. They're handling the twelves." He pointed at the three guns and blue-clad men to the right.

"Aye, sir!" Thomas nodded to Oscar, who flicked the reins and directed the horse toward the three guns. There was a whistling noise and another of the smoke trails came from up the road, wobbled, and aimlessly sailed off in a random direction.

"Say, what are those things?" Ron nervously asked Thomas.

"Rockets. The redcoats use 'em instead of field artillery sometimes, but mostly they never hit a thing." He glanced at the three guns as Oscar pulled the horse to a stop. "Give me a long nine-pounder any day." He leaped to the ground and trotted over to a man in a blue coat, white trousers and tall boots, who wore a hat unlike any Kim had seen before. It was rounded on top but narrow, with one end forward and the other behind the head.

_That must be Captain Miller_, Kim decided.

As soon as Thomas had spoken to him, the officer came back to the wagon and looked at the grapeshot and cannon balls.

"Right. We need ten of each with each gun. Those redcoats will be through the militia and up to our position in a few minutes, and we can use all you've got. Can you unload this?" he added to the Doctor, Kim and Ron.

"Yes, sir!" Kim snapped. "Come on, Ron, it's mission time!" She jumped to the ground took a cannon ball that Ron handed her, and passed it to Thomas. "Take this to _that_ gun!" she ordered. "You two; and you! Give us a hand, here!"

The men Kim had called to came over to the wagon as promptly as though their sergeant had barked an order to them. In moments Kim had Thomas and five marines in a line, passing the ammunition from the wagon to the first cannon. As soon as ten cannonballs and ten stands of grape were stacked by the gun, ready for use, she shifted the line to the second gun, and then to the third.

Once the projectiles were in place Kim took a moment to look around. Most of the Marines wore a round, brimless hat with a red plume on top. They wore white knee breeches and white crossbelts over their blue coats while the officer had a shoulder sling that held a short sword at his left hip and a red sash around his waist. It all looked somewhat fancy for a battlefield, but she realized that the men were going about their duties as calmly as if they were performing a drill. The growing noises of battle, the heat and the occasional British rocket didn't seem to bother them.

"Mister Barkin ought to be here," Kim remarked to Ron. "He'd enjoy seeing Marines this calm when they're in action."

"Yeah, he would," Ron replied. "But I guess that's what he'd expect, since he used to be a Marine."

"Remember what he told us in history class last semester, Ron? He said that there's no such thing as a _former_ Marine!"

Ron nodded and grinned. "Oh, yeah. 'A Marine is active, reserve or retired, but _never _former!'"

Kim noticed that the Doctor was looking around at the guns, troops, and signs of the approaching battle, and scanning the scene with the sonic screwdriver in a guarded manner. She stepped up to the time lord and quietly asked, "Can you find the Empath, Doctor?"

"I can't detect the fellow, Kimberly, but I have located the stolen TARDIS. Don't stare at it, but it's that large tree-trunk beside the road, about fifty yards back toward Washington." He kept his eyes on the Marine gunners and their cannons. "I cannot tell if he's inside, but if he wants to feel the emotions of this battle, he will have to come out. If he stays inside he won't feel anything of the battle."

Kim looked up the road toward Bladensburg, back toward Washington and then over at Commodore Barney's big guns on the road itself. As she did this she spotted the bulky, battered trunk of a large tree standing somewhat off the road.

"Right. Can we get inside it? Will your key open the door?"

"It's likely he'll leave it on the latch instead of locking it," the Doctor muttered. "Once outside to absorb emotions he'll be vulnerable to physical attack, so any delay to unlock the door would hamper a quick escape from danger."

"You'd better move this wagon back from the guns, lad," the Marine officer said to Oscar. Then he turned and strode back to his men.

"That sounds good to me," Thomas remarked, going to the horse. "The redcoats might think we've got powder cartridges in it and try to drop one of those rockets on us. I can help you lead him, Oscar."

"Back by that old tree looks like a good spot," Kim suggested, pointing at the leafless trunk.

The Doctor gave her a glance of approval, and then led the way back to the road. The sounds of guns and men shouting were getting louder; the battle was drawing closer.

Once they were back at the tree Thomas got a long, pointed iron stake with a ring at one end from the wagon and tried to drive it into the ground to tether the horse, but the soil had been baked hard by the hot weather. Kim stepped up and said, "Let me try." She gripped the top end of the stake, knelt down, concentrated and thrust the point down with a kung-fu shout.

The point of the stake went almost a foot into the sod! "That should do it," Kim remarked, bouncing back to her feet.

"I'd say so," said Thomas, in an awe-struck voice. Then he shook his head and added, "Well, I have to report back to the Commodore. Thanks for all the help, folks." He shook hands with each of them.

"Can we come with you?" said the Doctor. "I have some basic medical knowledge, as do my niece and her friend. We could help with the wounded."

The sounds of individual gunshots could be heard, now, and the rockets seemed to be coming more often.

"All right; I'll take you to the Captain, then I'll see the Commodore." Thomas led the way as Oscar finishing tying the reins to the ring on the stake. Then he came trotting up behind the group.

The two big guns stood on either side of the road, pointing toward Bladensburg. Men were standing easily around them, calmly waiting for the command to open fire. Kim saw that most of the men had blue coats, white crossbelts and tall collars that looked like black leather. Many wore tall hats with the word 'Flotilla' on it, and Kim noticed that one of these men, standing near the Commodore's horse, was black. She knew that there had been black soldiers in the Union Army during the Civil War, but this was the first black soldier Kim had seen in 1814.

There was a stack of cannon balls and stands of grapeshot near each of the guns, and further back what looked like a pair of two-wheeled carts. There was a large box on each of them. The Doctor remarked that these were the 'limbers,' and that the boxes held ammunition for ready use in the guns. The Commodore sat on his horse, between the guns, and was talking to a black-haired man in a blue uniform standing beside him. As they came up, Kim briefly noted that there was something oddly familiar about the man, but put this notion aside. There was a mission at hand, and that came first!

When the Commodore stopped talking and straightened up on his horse, Thomas stepped forward to the black-haired man and saluted. "Reporting for duty, Captain!"

"Good! At the moment there are plenty of gunners but I'll need you to run messages for me, Diggs. Who are these people?" He gestured toward the Doctor, Kim, Ron and Oscar.

Kim hardly heard what Thomas said as he introduced them and explained how and why they were there. _Diggs?_ she wondered. _Could Thomas be Oscar's grandfather? This sitch is _really _getting complicated!_

When Thomas had finished the Captain nodded and remarked that someone to collect and bandage injured men would be useful. Then he glanced at Kim, and added, "But you might want to leave, miss. The British are through the first line of militia already and will be on us shortly."

"I'm staying here, Captain!" Kim snapped back. He grinned wryly.

"That sounds familiar. Very well, but if we have to fall back don't waste time about doing it. Excuse me." He turned from Kim toward the black flotillaman who stepped up to him and saluted.

"Both guns are in position, manned and ready, Captain. We are ready to load," the man reported calmly.

"Thank you, Mister Ball. We'll see action soon; just stand easy for now." He turned away to study the ground to the north-east.

Kim walked forward, stood beside the Captain and looked over the place that would soon be a battlefield. The two big guns straddled the road while the three smaller guns and the Marines were to Kim's right. Beyond the Marines was another group of men, and what looked like a mass of infantry was off the road, to the left of the guns. This line was on a ridge running across the road in a north-south direction, with a good view of the terrain. The ground sloped down to a shallow ravine that was parallel to the ridge, while the road ran across it toward Bladensburg. A narrow bridge stood where the road crossed a small stream of water flowing south some distance beyond the ravine. There was another group of troops to the right of the road and almost at the bridge; Kim wondered who they were and why they'd been placed out by themselves instead of back with this line of men and guns. Everything between the ridge and the bridge was all open land and attacking troops would be exposed, without any cover.

"The guns have a good field of fire, sir," the flotillaman said.

"Yes. If they come straight at us, Charlie, they'll regret it," the Captain agreed.

The noise that had been coming from up the road had died down, and a few men were coming back toward the guns from that direction. As they got closer Kim realized that they weren't messengers; they were running! At a slow pace, as if they were exhausted, but just the same, they were running from the battle.

"Here come the stragglers, men," Commodore Barney called out. "The redcoats will be along soon enough. Captain, load with roundshot and aim your guns at that bridge."

"Kim, I'm glad it's hot today," Ron said. Kim turned to look at her friend and partner.

"Why is that, Ron?"

"Because I'm sweating, and not just because it's hot," he answered.

Kim grinned in a humorless way and said, "So am I."

Team Possible had been in tight spots many a time, stopping some plot of Doctor Drakken's or foiling one of Professor Dementor's plans, but having to stand and wait for an army to attack them was something both new and nerve-wracking.

The Doctor and Oscar joined them, and the time lord took a spyglass from a pocket, opened it and studied the road and bridge.

"Can you see 'em, sir?"

"I believe so, Oscar. There's movement on the road, and it looks like a body of men with muskets . . . yes, British regulars, coming this way." He closed the spyglass with a snap and looked at Kim, Ron and Oscar. "Keep down all you can, and be prepared to capture our quarry when he's spotted," he added softly.

There was a mass of figures in red uniforms coming along the road toward the small bridge. As they came to it the troops to the right of the road opened fire, but the redcoats

promptly began shooting back, and to Kim's disgust after two minutes the troops broke, fleeing back and to the right of the line of guns.

"Confound those militia!" the Captain fumed. "They strut and play at soldiering, but when they're needed . . . just look that!"

"They ought to fight," said the black flotillaman, "instead of running like sheep chased by dogs."

The Doctor nodded in agreement. "George Washington said it, you know: 'No militia will ever acquire the habits necessary to resist a regular force.'"

"George Washington knew how to fight a war," Kim growled. "Didn't people learn anything from that?"

"It was the same way at Bull Run," Oscar said softly, with a shrug.

At the bridge the British troops closed up and began to cross the little stream. Then Commodore Barney, who had dismounted, came up to the big eighteen-pounders and said, "They're close enough now, Captain. Open fire!"

"Number one, ready!" the Captain shouted. "Take aim! Fire!"

The big gun jumped back with a roar and Kim felt the shock of the explosion at the same time. A cloud of thick white smoke billowed out and then blew off to one side, just in time for them all to see the cannon ball strike the mass of men on the bridge. Figures were swept aside and struck to the ground, and Kim suddenly felt sick. Down there men were being killed and mangled — slaughtered! — and there was no way for her to stop it.

There was a crash of gunfire from the left of the road, beyond the troops stationed there.

"That will be Major Peter's guns," the Captain remarked. "Number two, ready! Take aim! Fire!"

The second big gun thundered, but this time the smoke obscured the view and they didn't see the roundshot tear into the redcoats, but as it blew aside Kim saw the ones who were still on their feet were moving forward and closing their ranks.

"Pierre Bosquet had it wrong," the Doctor said softly. "It's _not_ magnificent, but it _is _war."

The Commodore clapped the Captain on the shoulder. "That's good shooting! Keep at it, Captain Possible!"

Kim's jaw dropped like a rock. Could this be her own ancestor, Rodger Possible? The one she'd read about in that book that her father had loaned her?

Captain Possible glanced at Commodore Barney. "Certainly, sir. As you know, anything is possible — for a Possible."

**TBC . . .**

**Author's Disclaimer and Notes:**

The Disney Company owns the Kim Possible concept and characters.

The British Broadcasting Corporation owns the Doctor Who concept.

The term TARDIS is also copyright by the BBC.

The plot of this story is my responsibility.

Joshua Barney was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 6, 1759, and he died in Pittsburgh,

Pennsylvania, on December 1, 1818. At Bladensburg Barney was 55 years old.

Charles Ball was a runaway slave who passed himself off as a freedman, and then enlisted in Commodore Barney's flotilla.

Pierre Bosquet was a witness to the charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaklava (25 October, 1854) and said of it, "It is magnificent, but it is not war."


	5. Chapter 5

**Journey's Endings**

**Part Five: The Sight and Sound of War**

**Author's Comments:** Kim, Ron, Oscar Diggs and the Doctor have located the TARDIS that was stolen by the Empath, at the 1814 Battle of Bladensburg, one of the worst defeats ever suffered by an American army. Earlier, Oscar said that his grandfather was a member of Commodore Barney's Defense Flotilla at this battle, and the Flotillaman they have been helping is also named 'Diggs.' Finally, Kim has just heard the Commodore address the officer in charge of the artillery as 'Captain Possible.' Read on, and see what happens next.

My thanks go to Mahler Avatar, CajunBear73, Coot, smith5576 and all others who have read the previous chapters. Please feel free to leave a comment about this story at any time. I will do my best to reply.

KPDWKPDWKPDW

Kim was intently considering what she had just heard and what it could mean for her and the mission. Could this 'Captain Possible' be Rodger Possible, her ancestor who was a privateer captain in the War of 1812? If it was, should she tell him who _she_ was? Would he believe her? And why was he here, on land, instead of on his ship, at sea? She tried to remember if she had read anything about Rodger Possible being involved in the Battle of Bladensburg. What if he was killed here? Should she try to prevent that? Or would just her being here change history so that he _was_ killed in this battle?

At the same time another part of Kim's mind was observing the battle. The British soldiers had recoiled from the roundshot fired by the two big guns and the others off to the far left. Then they started forward again in spite of the cannon fire. After crossing the bridge the redcoated troops spread out, formed ranks and started coming along the road toward Commodore Barney's men. When a shot tore through them, those who weren't hit stolidly closed up and kept coming, stepping over the bodies of the dead and wounded.

Then the men stopped, brought their muskets up to their shoulders and aimed at the American guns and gunners. Ron grabbed Kim's arm and pulled her down a moment before the redcoats fired. The sound of the musket-balls slashing over her head brought Kim's mind back to the primary problem of How to Stay Alive on a Battlefield.

There was a yell from one of the men at the guns. He turned, staggered back a few paces and fell to the ground. Another man sat down suddenly, grasping at his left leg where a red stain was spreading. Kim leaped forward to check it and found an ugly gouge in the man's thigh. With the help of Ron and Oscar she carried the wounded gunner several yards back from the guns to where the Doctor knelt.

"This doesn't look too bad," the time lord commented absently as he examined the flotillaman's wounded leg. "Move your hand away, sailor . . . that's it . . . now lean back. Kimberly, Ronald, hold his arms and prop him up, please." From somewhere the Doctor had obtained a wooden canteen of water and a batch of long cloth strips. He washed the wound and then brought his sonic screwdriver into contact with the gunner's leg. There was a twitching of the muscles and a slightly flattened black ball followed by a wad of cloth popped out of a hole that quickly closed up. The blood stopped flowing and Kim could hardly see any break in the skin until she looked closely.

"Here, Oscar, hold this pad over the wound while I wrap the leg." The Doctor swiftly wound the leg with some of the cloth strips, tied them off, and nodded.

"Keep that covered for a week, and you'll be fine! Let's get him out of the way," he added, lifting the man by the hips while Oscar held his feet. They carried the wounded gunner about twenty yards to the rear and laid him in a hollow in the ground before hurrying back to the big guns.

"Change to grapeshot!" Captain Possible was shouting to the gunners. Kim saw a man holding one of the things that looked like big grapes wrapped in a bundle. _That's a 'stand' of grapeshot_, she remembered. The gunner stepped up to the gun, put the 'stand' into the muzzle and a second man used a long pole to ram it down the barrel. The gunners moved clear of the big gun and the cannon roared defiance at the enemy.

Kim looked to see what would happen this time — and then wished she hadn't. The nine separate balls in the grapeshot 'stand' spread out and swept through the British soldiers like a giant broom. Redcoated figures were tossed aside and hurled back in a wide swath. Moments later the other big gun roared and more went down. She turned to look at Ron and saw that her partner looked as white as the bandages the Doctor was using.

"They don't deserve that, Kim!" the boy gasped. "Nobody does!"

There were more wounded around the guns. Kim turned her attention back to the business of saving lives instead of taking them.

"Come on, Ron; there's another one down!" Team Possible felt sick — but carried on with their mission.

Kim and Ron picked up a second gunner with a wound in his left arm and hustled him back to the Doctor, who treated him, nodded, and smiled. "Next, please!"

Pulled by a group of flotillamen, a limber rattled past, away from the guns. Kim's gaze followed them and she saw the limber turn about and stop beside a pair of wagons back along the road toward Washington. The men opened the large box on the limber and began loading it with things that Kim realized were 'stands' of grapeshot and cloth-wrapped cylinders. As soon as they were done they pulled the limber back up to a spot behind the guns where other men began taking the cylinders and grapeshot out and passing them forward to the guns.

"Come on, Kim; more wounded!" Ron called. Kim snapped back to the sitch again and hurried to the guns to collect the casualties. Here they found Thomas standing over a flotillaman who was down, and passing a cylinder to a man at one of the guns.

"They're falling back! Guess they don't like the taste of our grapes!" Thomas shouted. Kim and Ron paused to look toward the British troops and saw that this was so. The redcoats were pulling back, further away from those murderous cannons, and then moving off to the right of the guns.

"It appears they're going to try attacking the Marines," Captain Possible calmly remarked. "We may have discouraged them somewhat."

"I should think so!" Ron exclaimed. "An hour or so trying to attack these guns would make anybody want to back off."

Thomas shook his head. "It's been about a quarter of an hour since we opened fire," he said with a grin. "And those redcoats don't give up easy."

Kim and Ron exchanged a glance. To them the battle seemed to have been going on for_ at least _an hour!

More rockets were sailing past. They didn't appear to be aimed at any special place, but whistled past Commodore Barney's guns, the Marines to the right and the troops to the left. Several went high overhead and landed well behind the gunners, and as Kim looked in that direction she saw one hit the ground near the tree trunk that was the disguised TARDIS.

The Marines opened fire with their three cannons and their muskets, and Kim turned to see the British line waver and halt. They raised their own muskets and fired, but the Marines just reloaded and sent another blast at the enemy. Then the British began to fall back and the Marines swarmed forward, swinging cutlasses and shouting, "Board 'em! Board 'em!"

Ron stared at the charging Marines and then turned to Kim. "Boredom? How can they be bored with all this going on?"

"That's what Marines shout when they're on a ship in battle, and they jump onto the enemy ship to capture it, Ron. They 'board' the enemy ship."

"Oh." The two teens watched in awe and admiration as the Marines drove the redcoats back to a rail fence, where red coats and blue ones mixed to become locked in a fierce hand-to-hand fight.

Kim turned back to the man on the ground, who was holding his left arm and swearing softly. When he saw Kim he blushed slightly and said, "Pardon me, miss, but they hit my arm."

"Come on; the Doctor will take care of it." Kim helped the man to his feet, passed him to Oscar with orders for the boy to guide the flotillaman to the time lord. Then she turned to help Ron with another man.

They had just reached the hollow in the ground where the time lord was busily tending to the wounded when two of the rockets came over and landed near the wagons as another limber came rolling back to them. There was a series of yells and shouts from the men around the wagons, who piled into them and started driving madly away toward Washington. Several others raced to the wagon that Kim, Ron, Oscar, Thomas and the Doctor had used to bring up the grapeshot and cannon balls. They untied the horse, climbed into the wagon and quickly set off after the others.

"Hey! There goes our wagon, guys!" Ron yelled, pointing at the departing men.

"And there goes our ammuniton!" Thomas raged from the limber he'd just help pull back. "Civilians! Devil take 'em! They were paid to bring that powder and shot up here, and now they take it away when we need it!"

"You had better let Captain Possible and Commodore Barney know about this," the Doctor remarked calmly. "A sudden lack of ammunition is never a welcome surprise."

Thomas nodded and turned to the men who had been pulling the limber. "Back to the guns, lads. We have to tell them the powder an' shot are gone." The flotillamen wheeled the limber around and started up to the gun battery, while Thomas raced ahead to carry the bad news.

Kim hardly noticed this, for she had spotted a man in civilian clothes who had not run off with the others. He was just standing by the roadside, gazing at the marines and the men further to their right. He turned and looked at a low hill beyond the men, where a large group of troops stood, ready to fire when the British came closer. As he did this Kim realized she had seen his face before — when she, Ron and the Doctor were watching the Cold Storage Building burning at the 1893 World's Fair. It was the Empath!

"Doctor! Ron! There he is! Come on, follow me!" Kim broke into a run toward the old tree by the road that was the disguised TARDIS. Ron, Oscar and the time lord all jumped up and came behind her. At the same moment the Empath looked around, saw them and also began running toward the tree.

The Empath was closer to the tree but Kim and Ron had lots of experience in sudden spurts of running. They got to the tree just as the Empath peeled back a section of the bark as if it was a door — which, of course, it was. Kim slammed into the Empath and knocked him into the TARDIS, dove in herself and rolled to her feet inside a room much like the control room of the Doctor's TARDIS.

The Empath was just getting to his feet, and pulling something from a trouser pocket. Kim lunged to grab him for a hip throw but he jumped back just far enough to dodge, and raised a black rod, somewhat like the Doctor's sonic screwdriver.

"Kimberly! Duck!" At the Doctor's shout Kim did a quick leap to one side and dropped to the floor. The Empath pointed the tube at her and there was a flash of light between the rod and Kim.

To Kim's amazement all that happened was a very strange burst of music. It sounded something like _Pop Goes the Weasel_ being played backwards on a leaky bagpipe. The Empath just stood there with a bewildered expression, so she bounced up and charged in on him.

He dropped the rod and began throwing punches that suggested some kind of martial art, but Kim knew how to handle such things. She blocked the Empath's blows, landed a solid punch in his middle that made him double over and topped it off with a spin-kick that caught the Empath's jaw. He straightened up, went over backwards and landed with a bone-shaking thud!

"Here, Kim, use this," said Ron, handing her a coil of rope. She quickly tied the Empath's hands behind his back and lashed his ankles together. Then she looped some rope to lash the tied wrists and ankles together. As she finished the Empath was looking less dazed and seemed to be regaining consciousness. Ron looked over the result of Kim's work and nodded.

"You're good, kid — real good," Ron said to their captive in a broad drawl. "But as long as Kim's around, you'll just be second best."

"I agree, Ronald." The Doctor looked up from the central control consol where he had just closed the TARDIS' door. "That was in the style of James Cagney in _The Public Enemy_, correct?"

"Ah, no," Ron replied. "Like Jim Carrey in _The Mask._"

"Oh, yes. Of course." The Doctor shook his head in a how-did-I-miss-that-one manner, and began to examine the control console of the stolen TARDIS.

Ron turned to Oscar and said, "Did you hear that captain call Thomas 'Diggs?' Could he be your granddad?"

"He might be," the boy replied. "I think my father calls grandfather 'Tom' sometimes."

"He seems like a badical guy. And do you suppose that 'Captain Possible' is an ancestor of yours, KP?"

There was no answer, so Ron turned to look closely at Kim. She had a thoughtful, preoccupied expression, and seemed deep in thought.

"Earth to Kimberly! Come in, Kim!"

"Huh? Oh, yes, Ron; what is it?"

Ron repeated his question, and Kim frowned. "He might be. Daddy loaned me a book that was all about a man named Rodger Possible, who was a ship captain during the War of 1812. But I haven't got to the part about late 1814, yet."

Kim pushed that problem aside for the time being and turned to ask the Doctor a question.

"It looked as if he was trying to shoot something at me, but there was just some odd music instead. Did you do that?"

The Doctor held up the device he'd brought out when they were stalking the Empath in the basement of the White House.

"Yes, I used this countervail generator. It set up a field that cancelled most of the stun beam he fired, reducing it to a melody of sorts. If I hadn't, you'd have been unconscious for a couple of hours, at least."

"I see," Kim nodded. "Well, thank you very much, Doctor."

"As you say, Kimberly, 'It's no big.'" The time lord went back to his examination of the control console for a minute or so, and then spoke.

"Well, this fellow had the controls set so he could make a fast getaway if necessary," the Doctor remarked. "We can jump back to the ground floor of the White House, pick up K-9 and Rufus, and then go back to my TARDIS." He looked at Kim, Ron and Oscar. "We should have this whole affair wound up in a couple of hours."

"Say, now that we've got this TARDIS back, why don't we go into the past _before_ we first got to the White House, and catch him there when he shows up?" Ron asked.

The Doctor shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Ronald. You see, we were in the Patent Office and walking to the White House while this TARDIS was already there. Then we went back for K-9 and the wagon, and then drove it to the White House. If we hopped back as you suggest that would change what we've done in our own past, and the Bilnovitch Limitation Effect makes that sort of thing impossible, even for a time lord. You see?"

He was met with blank looks on the faces of Kim, Ron and Oscar. Ron started to say something, stopped, nodded and then shook his head.

"Yeah . . . no . . . just forget that I asked, okay?"

"Good idea," said Kim.

"Can we see how the battle's going, outside, before we go?" Oscar asked.

The Doctor tapped a control and a wall screen lit up with a view of the outside. Things looked grim as the view panned across the area. The troops to the left of Commodore Barney's guns were gone, and Kim saw that the troops on the low hill on the far right were falling back in confusion. The flotillamen and Marines were standing firm and blazing away with their muskets, but the cannons were no longer firing.

"No more ammuniton for the big guns," Oscar muttered. "Grandpa hated those wagon drivers for running away with it." The boy shook his head. "He says 'We were holding them until the wagons and the militia ran away.' I never thought I'd see it happen, though."

"We can't stop it by ourselves, and we've still got a sitch on hand," Kim said. "Can we go, Doctor? This all looks pretty sad."

"I agree," said the time lord. He snapped a switch and the time rotor began its steady rise and fall. It made a 'wheeze-whoosh' sound somewhat like the one in the Doctor's TARDIS, but not as loud. "Next stop, the White House, about five hours after we left it!"

**TBC . . .**

**Author's Disclaimer and Notes:**

The Disney Company owns the Kim Possible concept and characters.

The British Broadcasting Corporation owns the Doctor Who concept.

The term TARDIS is also copyright by the BBC.

The plot of this story is my responsibility.


	6. Chapter 6

**Journey's Endings**

**Part Six: Hello! Hello again!**

**Author's Comments:** Kim, Ron, Oscar Diggs and the Doctor have recovered the TARDIS that was stolen by the Empath, at the 1814 Battle of Bladensburg, one of the worst defeats ever suffered by an American army. Kim and Ron have also seen what war in the early 19th century is like, an experience they are not likely to forget. Now they are all in the stolen TARDIS, heading back to the basement of the White House, to pick up K-9 and Rufus. But knowing our friends we can expect more action, can't we? Read on, and see what happens next.

My thanks go to Mahler Avatar, CajunBear73, Coot, smith5576 and all others who have read the previous chapters. Please feel free to leave a comment about this story at any time. I will do my best to reply.

KPDWKPDWKPDW

"Well, we've arrived. Five hours after leaving and in exactly the same room on the ground floor of the White House."

At the time lord's words, Ron moved toward the door. "I hope Rufus and K-9 are okay."

"Wait, Ron! K-9 might think the Empath is coming back ― don't go rushing out there," Kim cautioned. Then she opened the door and called out, while staying in the TARDIS, "Don't do anything sudden, K-9! It's us."

"Hey, Rufus, it's me!" Ron added.

"We have the Empath prisoner, K-9; it's time to go, so please come in," the Doctor said calmly.

After a moment they heard a familiar squeak and an equally familiar voice. "Welcome, Mistress Kimberly. All is well, Master Ronald. Coming in, Master."

A moment later K-9 came rolling in with Rufus riding on his back. Ron scooped up his mole rat friend happily while the Doctor began working the viewscreen controls.

"Are the redcoats here yet, Doctor?"

"I'm just checking that now, Oscar. Hmmm . . . not yet, but probably soon, to judge by what's going on upstairs," the Doctor replied as he pointed at the screen.

Dolley Madison stood in the middle of a room while two men were rapidly bundling up drapes, silver plate and documents and packing them in wooden boxes. Two more men were working with a large portrait that was on the wall, apparently trying to get it down.

Kim nodded and turned to Ron. "Let's get up there ― that picture is important, and we should help." She shot out the door of the TARDIS with Ron right behind her, before the Doctor could call to them to stay put.

Even without a lantern to light their way, Kim and Ron found the stairs up to the room where Dolley Madison was preparing to leave. Paul and Jim, the two men they had met on their first visit, were struggling with the big picture. Dolley called out to Kim as the two teens burst into the room.

"Your machine is still in the storeroom, Kimberly, but the British Army is coming. You and your uncle should get K-9 to a safe place at once."

"Thank you, Mrs. Madison. He's doing that right now," Kim replied. "Can we help you with anything before we leave?"

Before Dolley Madison answered, Jim stepped back from the picture on the wall and called to her.

"We can't get it down, Ma'am. It's held to the wall by screws."

"Then get a screwdriver and unscrew it! Or else break the frame if you have to!" Dolley's voice was firm and Kim could tell that even though she was in a serious sitch, Mrs. Madison was keeping her cool. Jim and Paul promptly left to fetch suitable tools, while the other two men began carrying the packed boxes out of the room.

"Mrs. Madison, are you sure you don't mind if the frame is broken?" Kim asked.

"The frame doesn't matter, Kimberly, but that portrait of George Washington is one of our country's real treasures. I will _not_ leave it for Admiral Cockburn to take back to London as a trophy for King George to hang in his palace."

Kim nodded. "Okay. Keep everyone back and out of the way." She paced off the distance from the wall with the portrait, turned and studied the sitch. To the wall . . . up to the frame . . . go!

Kim did a series of flips across the room and then a leap that sent her toward the portrait, feet first. Her right leg was extended and as her foot struck the lower edge of the frame there was a sharp _crack_ of breaking wood. She dropped to the floor, did a shoulder roll and came to her feet smoothly.

"Grab that side, Ron!" Kim barked as she grasped the bottom of the portrait frame to one side of where it had just broken. Ron gripped a spot on the other side of the break, set his feet and at Kim's nod the two teens pulled. The wood creaked and then snapped, falling to the floor with a clatter.

Jim and Paul returned with pry-bars, while the doorkeeper came in carrying an ax. They all joined Kim and Ron in attacking the portrait's frame. In a few minutes the picture was free from the wall and they lowered it to the floor.

Dolley shook hands with both teens. "You two are remarkable! But now you'd better join your uncle and leave the city. There's no telling what the British soldiers will do once they get here." She went over to a table where several large pieces of paper were stacked.

"If you're sure you don't need more help," Kim replied, "then we'll be going."

Ron was looking at the top paper in the pile and asked, "Say, are these important, Ma'am?"

"Yes," said Dolley Madison, as she picked up the top sheet. "This is the original copy of the Declaration of Independence."

Kim was shocked to see such a historic document as this just lying on a pile of papers without any protection at all. The Declaration didn't even have a simple cover. Then she said, "We'd better get back to 'my uncle.' Come on, Ron."

"Thank you for helping with the picture," called Dolley as they left the room.

They got back to the storeroom to find Oscar standing in the doorway, holding a glowing light. Going into the TARDIS, they found the Doctor looking rather irritated.

"I was starting to worry," said the time lord. "I just did a distant scan and the leading British troops are only two miles away."

"Sorry, Doctor; we were helping Mrs. Madison with George Washington's picture," Kim explained. "But we can take care of ourselves, you know."

"Oh, I wasn't worried about you two," the Doctor replied. "But if you had decided to repel the British invasion by yourselves, you would have changed history in a major way."

For a moment Kim was sure that the Doctor was joking, but then Ron nudged her and said, "Well, anything is possible . . . for a Possible. Right, KP?"

"Ron!" Kim gave her friend a glare, and then giggled. _Stop a whole army?_ she thought. _Well . . . maybe._

The Doctor glanced around the room, and seeing that everyone was there, he closed the door. He made a few adjustments to the controls and then pushed a switch.

"This will take us to my TARDIS at the Patent Office. Then we can get Oscar back to 1862, and you three . . . " he looked at Kim, Ron and Rufus " . . . back to Middleton, Colorado."

Kim looked around the control room, glanced at Oscar and the trussed-up Empath and sighed. "I think I'll miss all this, Doctor. The TARDIS, time traveling and all." There was a chuckling sound from Rufus which K-9 promptly translated.

"Mistress Kimberly, Master Rufus says that your life will never be dull."

"You've got it, Rufus!" Ron put one finger to Rufus who promptly slapped it with one paw, and made a squeak that Kim thought sounded like, "High five!"

The time rotor came to a stop. The Doctor checked the controls, activated the viewscreen, and gave a satisfied nod. The screen showed the same cluttered room that they had first landed in.

"Ah, where's your TARDIS, Doctor?" Ron asked. "I don't see it out there."

"We're inside its control room, Ronald. The screen is set to view things outside both this TARDIS and mine."

"Wait a minute," Oscar asked. "How can one TARDIS fit inside another one? That would be like fitting the _Merrimack_ inside the _Monitor_."

"Take his word for it," Ron said with a grin. "The Doctor does things you just can't explain . . . but they always work." Kim moved the handle of the door control, and as it swung open they all heard music. It sounded like a flute or clarinet, and someone in the Doctor's TARDIS was singing!

_"What cher, all the neighbors cry._

_ Who ya gonna meet, Bill?_

_ Think ya bought the street, Bill?"_

"Say, Kim, doesn't that sound like . . . ?"

"I think it is, Ron." Kim gave her partner a knowing look and started for the open door, but the Doctor beat them to it. As they followed him, Kim and Ron heard an exclamation of surprise from the Time Lord, while the flute and singing continued.

_"Laughed? I, thought I could've died._

_ Knocked 'em in the Old Kent Road._

_ Knocked 'em in the Old . . . Kent . . . Ro-o-oad!"_

Kim and Ron saw a person sitting on a stool and playing a tune on what looked like a clarinet. He wore a blue shirt, brown slacks, a dark blue bow tie with small white polka-dots, and a black blazer with a crest on the left lapel. A second man dressed in slacks, a striped blazer and a straw hat was holding a cane and just finishing an old-style English music hall dance. It was this second person that caught their attention.

"Drax?" Kim asked. "It _is_ you, isn't it?"

"I didn't know you could sing," Ron remarked, stepping forward to shake Drax's hand.

"We had a couple of shows when I was in Brixton," the time lord said in his South London accent. "I did a turn, an' got a nice hand for it."

"Oscar, this is Drax. He's a time lord like the Doctor," Ron explained. "We picked up Oscar in the Civil War," he added as Drax and Oscar shook hands.

"Just what are you doing here? Again."

Kim turned toward the Doctor and saw that he was talking to the man who had been playing the music.

"I'm here for a very good reason, young fellow! Just give me a minute to explain and you'll understand." The stranger rose to his feet as he spoke, and Kim noted that he was shorter than the Doctor. His straight, black hair was about shoulder-high to the Time Lord, and she got a glimpse of a set of brightly-colored suspenders under the dark coat.

"Don't tell me Omega is causing trouble again. I couldn't believe that."

"Certainly not. Regeneration seems to have slowed down your thought processes."

"Hold everything!" Kim barked, stepping between the two arguing men. "Doctor, who is he and how is it you know him?"

"Well, Kimberly, you might say that we're the same sort of person," the Doctor began.

"Oh, you mean that you're _both_ time lords?"

"Let me explain it to her, you'll just confuse things," the stranger said impatiently to the Doctor. "You see, Kim ― I may call you Kim, may I not? ― we're not just _both_ time lords ― we're _the same_ time lord."

Kim looked from the stranger to the Doctor and back again. "Not _both_, but the _same _time lord?" she asked in a puzzled tone.

"You see," said the Doctor, "he is _me_ and I am _he_."

The stranger promptly sang,

_"And we're all together_

_ Goo goo g'joob."_

Ron and Rufus traded bewildered looks with Oscar, who hesitantly asked, "What's that?"

"It's from a song by the Beatles," the short man explained, raising his instrument. "Would you like to hear it?"

Kim waved the stranger to silence, gave both him and the Doctor a stern look, and said, "So, you two, you're both the same person? But how . . . ?"

"Ahem!" the Doctor cleared his throat. "You may remember that I told you how we time lords can regenerate our bodies when we get very old, or seriously injured? And that I've done that a few times?"

Kim nodded in agreement, and the Doctor continued.

"Well, when regeneration takes place, as a rule we don't come out of it looking the same as we did before. Do you see?"

"So, _he_ is what _you_ were like, a long time ago. Is that it?" said Kim.

The stranger's eyebrows rose in surprise and he asked the Doctor, "Is she always that sharp?"

"Kim, you mean this guy is the Doctor when he was younger?" Ron's voice was that of a thoroughly bewildered person.

"I think so, Ron," Kim answered carefully. "That's what you mean, isn't it?" she added to the Doctor.

"Yes, Kimberly, this is me as I was two regenerations ago." The Doctor sighed. "You see, he's the _first_ regeneration and I'm the _third_, so you might say _he's_ the second Doctor while _I'm_ the fourth."

"What about the first Doctor?" asked Kim. "And the third?"

"I can show them to you," said the short man, whom Kim now mentally dubbed Doctor Two, turning to the control consol. "You don't mind, do you?" he said politely.

"Oh, be my guest!" There was a touch of sarcasm in Doctor Four's voice.

The second Doctor worked at the controls and a picture appeared on the viewscreen. It showed an elderly, white-haired man walking in a garden. "That's the original Doctor, you see. Number One, so to speak."

He moved a control and the picture changed, to show a younger, elegantly-dressed man with a different face. He wore a white shirt with a ruffled front, a large black bow tie, and dark trousers. His red jacket was very stylish, and his hair ― still white ― was thick and curly.

"That's Number Three, what I have to look forward to," said Doctor Two. "Then, him." He nodded at Doctor Four.

"Now, you must admit that the nose _is_ an improvement." Doctor Four grinned, tapping his face as he spoke.

"Will there be a _fifth_ Doctor, someday?" Oscar asked them.

"Of course!" said Doctor Two, and Doctor Four added, "Though a bit younger at first, I think."

"But why are you," Kim pointed at Doctor Two, "and he," she pointed at Drax, "both here now?"

"Yeah, why the reunion?" Ron asked, and Rufus gave an inquisative squeak from his place on Ron's right shoulder.

"Yes, said Doctor Four. "Meeting one's self is strictly forbidden by the First Law of Time."

"Here, let me fill you in." Doctor Two stepped up beside Doctor Four and said, "Contact."

"Contact," Doctor Four answered.

Suddenly the two Doctor's faces seemed to blur. Two looked something like Four, while Four seemed to resemble Two.

"Drax, what's going on?" Ron asked the third time lord.

"Telepathic conference, lad. It's a way to swap information and get all the pukka gen, quick and clear."

"Pukka . . . gen . . . ?" Ron asked in a puzzled voice.

"That means 'correct information,'" Drax explained. "Ya see, any sort of general information is 'gen,' an' 'pukka' means 'the real thing; the best,' see?"

Ron nodded in comprehension.

"Maybe if our generals could do that we'd be able to win the war a lot quicker," Oscar remarked.

"Don't bet on it," Kim commented absently as she watched the two Doctors 'converse.' After a minute the 'blurring' stopped and the two Doctors moved apart.

"I . . . see . . . so _that's _what happened," said Doctor Four. He looked thoughtfully at Kim, Ron, Rufus and Oscar. "Awkward, to say the least, isn't it?"

"Yes, definitely awkward," Doctor Two commented.

"What happened? And why is it awkward?" Kim demanded.

"Well, Kimberly, it seems that you ― all of you ― are from a different universe than I am." Doctor Four shook his head. "And if I now tried to take any of you back to where I picked you up, I couldn't do it, because in _my_ universe ― where time lords exist, you see ― none of you exist at all!"

**TBC . . .**

**Author's Disclaimer and Notes:**

The Disney Company owns the Kim Possible concept and characters.

The British Broadcasting Corporation owns the Doctor Who concept.

The term TARDIS is also copyright by the BBC.

The plot of this story is my responsibility.

Drax is singing an old English music-hall song, "Knocked 'em in the Old Kent Road."

The Confederate Navy ironclad C.S.S. _Virginia_ was a conversion of the partially-destroyed Union Navy steam frigate U.S.S. _Merrimack._ In spite of the name change the Confederate ironclad was almost always referred to as 'the _Merrimack_' by people on the Union side during the American Civil War. The _Virginia_ was 263 feet long by 51 feet 4 inches wide, while the Union ironclad U.S.S. _Monitor _was only 179 feet long by 41 feet 6 inches wide. Oscar Diggs is quite right in saying the Confederate ship wouldn't fit inside the Union vessel.

The Doctors are quoting from the song "I Am the Walrus," by the Beatles.


	7. Chapter 7

**Journey's Endings**

**Part Seven: Oopsie!**

**Author's Comments:** Kim, Ron, Oscar Diggs and the Fourth Doctor have returned to the Doctor's TARDIS with the captured Empath, only to find Drax, another time lord, waiting for them. They are also met by the Second Doctor, a previous regeneration of the original Doctor. They are then told that in the universe of the time lords, Kim, Ron, Rufus and Oscar do not exist! This could make returning them to their proper places in time somewhat difficult.

My thanks go to Mahler Avatar, CajunBear73, Coot, smith5576 and all others who have read the previous chapters. Please feel free to leave a comment about this story at any time. I will do my best to reply.

KPDWKPDWKPDW

For a moment everyone was silent, and then Rufus gave an indignant squeak that seemed to echo through the control room. The mole rat chattered sharply for a full minute, shaking a paw at the two Doctors in turn.

"Master, Rufus takes strong exception to what you just said. Mistress Kimberly and Master Ronald are _real_; they do exist. Please explain your statement." K-9's translation was in his usual calm manner, but Kim thought that the robot dog had an angry tone in his voice.

"Yeah! What do you mean, KP isn't real?" Ron growled. "And Rufus? And what about Oscar?"

"Oh, no, no, no! It's not that way at all," said Doctor Two, and Doctor Four shook his head. "You're not in the wrong universe, Ronald; I am. That is, we are." Doctor Four waved at himself, Drax and Doctor Two as he spoke.

"Time Lords, Cybermen, Daleks, Ice Warriors, all of them," said Doctor Four, "just don't exist in this universe. Neither does Gallifrey, for that matter."

"But you do," Doctor Two added, "this is where you belong. There are some other differences as well."

"But you just said that something was 'awkward,'" Kim asked.

Ron nodded his agreement. "Yeah, what's the glitch in this sitch, anyway?"

"The 'glitch' appears to have been caused by the Empath and the stolen TARDIS," said Doctor Four. "Let's see what he has to say, shall we?" He turned to what looked like a high school student's locker that stood against one wall of the control room, opened it and gestured to Doctor Two with a broad smile.

"After you, Claude."

Doctor Two grinned, bowed in return and said, "No. After you, Cecil." Then both Doctors laughed as they went through the locker door.

Drax looked at the bewildered teens and explained, "Comedy turn from about 1940." He led them through the locker and into the stolen TARDIS. Once inside the control room, Drax set to work examining the control consol while both Doctors knelt beside the Empath and removed his gag.

"Now then, fellow, suppose you explain yourself," said Doctor Two.

"Yes. Just what were you trying to do?" asked Doctor Four. "Disrupt Earth's history for the thrill of it?"

"You don't understand!" the Empath gasped. "It's only when I feel emotions that I'm truly alive! Without them, I'm just an empty husk," he added in a tone of self-pity. "Once I realized that time lords were visiting Empathios I saw my chance to really live!"

"So you stole this TARDIS and went looking for an emotional 'high?'" Kim asked in disgust. "I suppose it didn't matter if you changed history and caused a few wars along the way."

"No! I didn't create wars and disasters; I just soaked in the emotions when they did happen," the Empath protested.

"If that's the case, why did you choose to visit the Earth and its history?" Doctor Four asked.

"The time lord in this machine told me about the Earth. He said it was the favorite planet of an eccentric time lord, and it had a history rich in conflict and crisis," the Empath moaned. "I disabled the tracer circuits so I couldn't be followed or found and then headed for a period when a great war was going on. But something happened and the machine landed in a peaceful exhibition instead."

The Empath paused and shook his head in frustration. "I talked to people and figured out where I was and when this 'Civil War' had actually taken place. I was going to go there when a building caught fire. I didn't cause the fire, but I couldn't pass up such an opportunity, so I stopped to absorb ― to enjoy! ― the emotions of the spectators."

"_And_ the people trapped inside the burning building!" Kim snapped. "You were feeding on their pain and suffering."

"Then I realized you were looking at me, and you knew about me!" the Empath went on. "I had to flee, so I headed for the war. But once I was there some of the local soldiers showed up and I had to leave again." He gave a sob of frustration, and Doctor Two put the gag back in place.

"'Eccentric?' I may be unconventional, but 'eccentric' seems a bit extreme," Doctor Two said indignantly. He turned to Doctor Four and asked, "What have you been up to lately?"

"Nothing 'eccentric,' I assure you; I just have fun," Doctor Four protested. "But more to the point, what do you make of him?" He pointed at the Empath.

"It's just as I thought ― he's become addicted to strong emotions."

Doctor Four nodded in agreement. "It can happen. But leaving Empathios to soak up emotions on some other world is strictly forbidden by both the laws of Empathios and time lord law."

"He said he disabled the tracer so he couldn't be found, Doctor. But you were able to track him. How did that happen?" Kim asked reasonably. "Have you found anything yet?" she added to Drax, who was half-way into a hatch in the lower part of the control consol.

"Maybe . . . 'arf a mo' . . . needle-nardle noo! That's it!" Drax triumphantly remarked. Then he slid backwards out of the hatch, wearing a broad grin.

"What did the Empath do, and why did it make all three TARDISs land in our universe?" Kim asked.

"He tried to disable the tracer so we couldn't find him," Drax began. "Trouble is, he picked the wrong one an' nobbled the anti-collision circuit instead."

"And that means . . . ?" Kim prodded.

"The anti-collision circuit prevents a TARDIS from passing through a locus in space and time at the same moment some other TARDIS is passing through the same place," Doctor Two explained to Kim.

"But with that circuit in the stolen TARDIS unserviceable it failed to dodge mine," Doctor Four continued. "When we met, with both in motion, my TARDIS took evasive action. She jumped from my universe into yours and made an emergency landing in Middleton."

"You say that as if the TARDIS was alive," said Ron, and both Doctors smiled.

"Why, yes ― I did, didn't I?" said Doctor Four.

"This fellow," Drax pointed to the Empath, "kept on toward the Civil War but he clipped my TARDIS just when I was going to land in 1893. That time _both_ of us jumped to your universe, an' landed. My TARDIS packed up in the bargain, so I was stuck there for a while."

"So, all three ― you, Drax and the Empath ― landed in _our_ universe," Kim said to Doctor Four. "But why did you all stay there when you started traveling again, instead of going back where you belonged?"

"Those collisions did a bit more than just bounce us around," Drax explained. "Each TARDIS had its controls knocked for six, an' it was only when Chancellor Borusa told me about it that I knew what 'ad 'appened. I got my TARDIS put right an' went to Gallifrey in my own universe, back where I was supposed to be." He gave a nonchalant shrug and added, "Bob's your uncle!"

"Actually, his name is 'Slim,'" Ron said helpfully. At the puzzled expressions of Drax and both Doctors he added, "Kim's uncle, I mean."

"Now that we understand what happened and why, Drax can repair this stolen TARDIS and use it to take the prisoner to Gallifrey in our universe," Doctor Four explained. "He's also repaired my TARDIS ― sorry, _our_ TARDIS," he nodded to Doctor Two ― "with an adjustment so we can take you youngsters back to your proper places before we head back to Gallifrey ourselves," he finished.

"It's a rather tricky thing to do," Doctor Two explained. "That's why I was plucked out of my time stream and brought here. Just to be sure that everything goes right, you see?"

"I think that I could have handled it by myself ― that is, with Drax's technical assistance," Doctor Four remarked.

"Just a minute!" Kim interrupted. "Why are you two arguing? After all, you're both the same person ― sort of ― aren't you?"

"It sounds like somebody arguing with his reflection in a mirror," Ron observed, and Rufus chirped, "Yeah!"

"A valid point, Master," said K-9 calmly, and the two Doctors stopped and looked at the others before looking back at themselves. Then they both grinned broadly, and Doctor Four turned toward Drax.

"How soon can you have this stolen TARDIS ready to return to Gallifrey?"

"About ten minutes," he replied, as he dived back into the control consol. "I'll get right on it."

"We'll just leave you to it, then, and wait in the other TARDIS," Doctor Four remarked, and he led the group back out of the 'locker' into the familiar control room.

KPDWKPDWKPDW

It was exactly ten minutes later that Drax joined the others and reported that all was ready for him to take the stolen TARDIS and the captive Empath back to Gallifrey. There was a general shaking of hands and 'thank-yous' all around before he went out through the door of the 'locker.' A moment later the familiar 'wheeze-whoosh' sound was heard and the 'locker' faded away.

"Splendid fellow, Drax. Even if his grasp of temporal theory _is_ shaky," Doctor Four remarked.

"Now, let's see about getting the rest of you all back to when and where you belong, shall we?" He bowed slightly to Doctor Two.

"If you would be so kind . . . ?"

Doctor Two nodded in return. "My pleasure, young fellow. Here we go!" The time rotor began its steady rise and fall

KPDWKPDWKPDW

"Well, Oscar, we're back in 1862, just half an hour after we left it," said Doctor Four. He worked the controls of the scanner and they could see the ruins of a small shed a short distance away. In another direction two Union soldiers wearing dazed expressions were slowly getting to their feet.

"Those are the two soldiers K-9 stunned," said Kim. "We moved them away just before that Confederate cannon shot smashed the smokehouse the TARDIS was in. Remember, Ron?"

"I guess I have to go now, Miss Kim." Oscar held out his hand. "This has been a great trip, and I wouldn't have missed it for anything!"

"You were a big help, Oscar," Kim replied, shaking the boy's hand. "I'm glad you enjoyed it all."

"You got to see your Grandfather in action at that battle," Ron remarked. "What do you think of battles, now that you've seen one up close?"

"I think they're pretty messy," Oscar replied. "I see why my Father insisted that I stay out of the Union Army."

Doctor Four shook the boy's hand. "It has been fun having you along, Oscar. Just remember what I said about science being the key to a world of wonders."

"I'll remember, Doctor. Say, will I ever see any of you again?" he added, looking around at Doctor Two, K-9, Kim, Ron and Rufus.

"I'd hesitate to say," Doctor Four replied with a grin. "After all, you know that 'Anything is possible . . . for a Possible.'"

After shaking hands with Doctor Two and Ron, and letting Rufus shake him by the finger, Oscar turned and went out the door of the TARDIS. A moment later they saw him in the scanner as Oscar hurried over to the two Union soldiers, and began to help them down the hill toward the Balloon Corps camp.

Doctor Four closed the door, gave a sigh and punched a control. The time rotor began moving again, and he remarked, "Next stop, Middleton, Colorado!"

KPDWKPDWKPDW

Once the TARDIS had materialized, Kim turned on the scanner and was delighted to see that they were just outside the Middleton Mall, in the same place where she and Ron had first entered the Doctor's machine. Doctor Four checked the local time and announced that it was just two hours later than when Kim and Ron had come on board.

"Well, we'd better get ourselves home," Kim said firmly.

"Yeah! I don't want to upset your dad," Ron remarked with a shiver.

"Goodbye Kimberly ― Ronald ― and you, Rufus," Doctor Four said as he shook hands with each of them. "It's been a pleasure meeting you all," Doctor Two added as Kim opened the door. The two teens and pet gave a final wave and went out into their own time at last. As the TARDIS faded out Ron pointed to the local transit stop and suggested that they catch the next bus, to which Kim agreed. As it happened a bus pulled up just as they got to the shelter, and they were soon off for home.

Walking up to Kim's house Ron remarked on how nicely familiar it all was.

"We've had quite an adventure, KP," he added.

"But no supervillains to fight, this time," Kim replied as she opened the front door.

They went inside to find Kim's parents, her twin younger brothers and Ron's parents, all in the dining room and all looking concerned.

"Kim! Where have you and Ron been?"

At her father's sharp question, Kim hesitated. Clearly, something was wrong.

"At the mall, Daddy." She could see both worry and disbelief on James Possible's face.

"Remember, Mister Doctor P? That's where we said we'd go," Ron put in.

"Kimmie, that was Saturday ― yesterday," Kim's mother replied. "You've both been gone for twenty-six hours."

"Uh, oh!" Rufus muttered, while Kim and Ron stared at their families. Then Ron gulped apprehensively.

"He got it wrong, KP. The Doctor blew it."

"Doctor? Ronald! What have you and Kim been up to?" The tone in James Possible's voice sent a chill up Ron's spine.

"Daddy, Mom, everybody, please sit down and I'll explain where we've been." Kim made a 'keep calm' gesture to everyone in the room. "It was a really strange sitch, though. You might not want to believe me, but it's all true." Kim paused, took a chair, and then began.

"When we got to the mall it looked like rain, so we ran for cover . . . "

**TBC . . . **

**Author's Disclaimer and Notes:**

The Disney Company owns the Kim Possible concept and characters.

The British Broadcasting Corporation owns the Doctor Who concept.

The term TARDIS is also copyright by the BBC.

The plot of this story is my responsibility.

"Knocked for six" is an English phrase that means the same thing as "knocked for a loop."

"Nobbled" means "messed up" or "sabatoged."


End file.
